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Paladins as DPS
Paladin DPS Abilities * Sanctity Aura: Increases all holy damage done by 10%. The main Retribution DPS Aura and should be used as much as possible. The Improved Sanctity Aura talent also increases all damage caused by allies with Sanctity Aura by 1/2%. * Judgement of the Crusader: Increases holy damage taken by the judged target. With 3 points in Improved Seal of the Crusader this judgement will also increase the critical strike chance of all attacks made against the target by 3%. * Seal of Command: Gives your melee attacks a chance to deal a large amount of damage. The main damage seal for most Retribution paladins. Judgement of Command is also the main damage nuke for Retribution Paladins. * Crusader Strike: An instant melee attack that refreshes all Judgements on the target. This attack refreshes the Judgement of any Paladin, so it allows one Retribution Paladin to keep up multiple judgements at once. * Consecration: Deals Holy damage to all enemies in a small area over 8 seconds. In most situations of limited use due to mana constraints, this spell does add a large amount of damage per second as well as providing an Area of Effect attack for the Paladin. * Exorcism: A large damage nuke against demon and undead targets on a long cooldown. * Hammer of Wrath: A ranged finishing move for a heavy mana investment. Paladin DPS Rotation * 1. Sanctity Aura * 2. Judgement of the Crusader * 3. Seal of Command * 4. Crusader Strike * 5. Consecration (If mana allows) * 6. Exorcism (If target is Demon or Undead) * 7. Continue using Crusader Strike and Judgement of Command Weapon Selection * Use a slow 2-handed weapon as your primary weapon. This will increase the chance for Seal of Command to proc on each swing and cause the procs to deal more damage. * 1-handed weapons are useful on spellcasters to interrupt their casting, but will lower your DPS significantly. Melee Stats * Your melee hit rating base should be 142, or 95 with precision (which requires 8 points in to protection) against level 73 (boss) and higher enemies. You will deal more damage by being able to hit the boss 99% of the time versus hitting him 90% of the time. * Attack Power (typically from Strength) is your primary DPS stat. * Your melee critical strike chance needs to be at least 25% to maintain Vengeance stacks nearly all the time. After that point critical strike rating is not as much of an increase to personal DPS as straight Attack Power. Base Stats * Strength: 5 points in Divine Strength in holy gives 2.2 AP per 1 point of strength, making this your most important DPS stat. * Intellect: Though not a primary stat, Intellect increases the Paladin's mana pool, allowing for more longevity and the ability to use high cost spells such as Consecration and Exorcism.* * Spell Damage: The contribution of spell damage to Paladin DPS is smaller than Attack Power, but does scale reasonably well with some Retribution abilities, particulary Consecration and Exorcism. Spell Damage Controversy The usefulness of Spell Damage for Retribution Paladins has long been debated. While most Retribution attacks and abilities do scale with spell damage, typically they see more of an increase with additional Attack Power instead of Spell Damage. Most Retribution Paladin gear has both Strength (Attack Power) and Spell Damage on it, which can result in "watered down" stats, since both are relatively expensive stats in the item budget. Notably the Arena Season 3 Retribution set lacks any spell damage, which could become a new trend in Retribution itemization. Many Retribution Paladins prefer to wear Warrior gear and forsake spell damage entirely.